IRENA Highlights Renewable Energy Initiatives to Mobilize Action on Climate Change at Abu Dhabi Ascent

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is advocating action oriented-initiatives to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy at the Abu Dhabi Ascent. The high-level meeting hosted by the UAE on May 4-5 is in preparation for the September U.N. Climate Summit in New York. IRENA is highlighting its Africa Clean Energy Corridor and SIDS – Lighthouses initiatives to the governments, international organizations, and delegates from the private sector and civil society convening in Abu Dhabi to learn about and shape specific stakeholder initiatives that address climate change.

Energy accounts for over 60 percent of emissions and the transition to renewable energy offers the most cost-effective, technically proven and economic solution to reduce this. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urged for a tripling or even quadrupling of the share of renewables in the energy mix by 2050 to avert catastrophic climate change.

“The climate agenda is becoming ever more prominent and the IPCC has expressed very clearly the need for the world to act quickly,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin.

“We are meeting in Abu Dhabi because we still have a choice. Decarbonizing the world’s energy mix is possible and the transition to renewable energy can also generate additional growth and employment. Action-oriented initiatives like Africa Clean Energy Corridor and SIDS – Lighthouses and the others presented here at the Abu Dhabi Ascent, show us how.”

IRENA’s Africa Clean Energy Corridor is a plan to transform the continent’s current fuel mix with hydro, geothermal, biomass, wind and solar energy projects deployed from Cairo to Cape Town. With a regional approach, fostering international co-operation across countries of the Eastern and Southern Africa power pools, the Africa Clean Energy Corridor develops the continent’s vast energy resources, optimizing the energy mix and advancing economic prosperity. New jobs and investment opportunities will be created while fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions will be reduced.

The SIDS – Lighthouses initiative is a systematic approach for the transition to renewables in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Renewable energy sources have been shown to be viable in small island energy systems, and some islands have become a ‘lighthouse’ for the possibilities that renewable energy offers. The deployment of renewable energy technology and efficient use of energy can, and is, having a transformational impact on SIDS energy security, employment generation and economic and social well-being.

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: May 3, 2014

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